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Education notes: News from schools near you

Pioneer Press

Posted:
04/05/2014 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated:
04/05/2014 07:15:12 PM CDT

Education notes

DAKOTA COUNTY

-- Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan schools are looking for parents to serve on a curriculum instruction advisory council. Applications are available at district196.org and will be accepted through May 16.

-- The Children's Art Festival continues through April 30 at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave. More than 100 pieces of art from Burnsville-Eagan-Savage elementary students are featured.

-- A team from Visitation School in Mendota Heights took first place at the North Star Regional FIRST robotics competition at the University of Minnesota. The girls and their robot now move on to the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, April 23-26, where they will compete against teams from around the world.

-- The community education department of Farmington Area Public Schools won the Minnesota Community Education Association 2013 Outstanding Project award for the Farmington Community Expo. The expo is a chance for community members to learn more about local businesses, organizations and resources.

RAMSEY COUNTY

-- FamilyWise, a Twin Cities nonprofit that provides services to strengthen families, has given its Community Partner of the Year Award to North High School in North St. Paul. For the past 15 years, North students, staff and families have raised money to throw a holiday party in partnership with FamilyWise for children and families in need.

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Last year, nearly $7,000 was raised to buy gifts, grocery gift cards and a family-style dinner for more than 100 children, parents and grandparents.

-- Vadnais Heights Elementary, 3645 Centerville Road, will have its annual Spring Carnival Fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 12. The carnival will include a silent auction, raffle with cash prizes, games, food and bouncy houses. Proceeds benefit the school.

-- Carol Hultman, a sixth-grade science teacher at Central Middle School in White Bear Lake, was named a Siemens STEM Institute Fellow. This summer she will go to Washington, D.C., to learn from scientists, thought leaders, personalities and innovators who work in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) disciplines.

-- Students in grades 3-6 at Otter Lake Elementary in White Bear Township will participate in a Poetry Cafe beginning at 6:30 p.m. April 29. Students are writing poems to read at the event, which will have a 1960s coffeehouse theme. To prepare for the cafe, Minnesota poet, anthologist and publisher Bruce Lansky visited the school in March to teach students about writing poetry. Lansky runs the website gigglepoetry.com.

ST. PAUL

-- The St. Paul Public Schools board is hosting three listening sessions, intended to be informal conversations with parents and residents. Attendees can discuss any concerns or issues with board members at these events. The sessions are from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. April 10 at the West Seventh Community Center, Room 112; from 7 to 9 p.m. April 17 at North Dale Playground Center; and from 7 to 9 p.m. May 8 at the Conway Community Recreation Center.

-- The marching band from Farnsworth Aerospace Magnet will play a selection of songs before the Twins game April 15 at Target Field. Led by Patricia Larkey, some 210 students in grades five through eight will perform from 6:30 p.m. until the game begins at 7:10 p.m. Farnsworth fifth-grader Kongmoog Vang will be honored during a pregame ceremony for the essay he wrote about Jackie Robinson.

-- Farnsworth Aerospace Magnet students took third place in the KidWind Renewable Energy Challenge held in Eagan in March. A team of 15 students from grades 5-7 competed in a series of engineering challenges. Under the coaching of teacher David Barrett, students tested wind turbines to generate electricity, created cars propelled by sails and built a windmill that could lift small weights.

-- Central High School's 2-year-old robotics team, the MinuteBots, won second place at the FIRST Robotics Regional Competition and earned an invite to the national competition in St. Louis. Most of the team's 19 members were new to robotics this year.

-- Amrita Mohanty of Woodbury High School received first prize from the U.S. Air Force at the Twin Cities Regional Science Fair and advanced to state competition. She also was selected to represent the Twin Cities at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles in May.

-- Two students from South Washington County schools are among 100 chosen by the National Geographic Society to compete in the Minnesota State Geographic Bee. They are Jefferson McGough, from the Gateway program at Bailey Elementary, Woodbury, and Jacob Grundhauser from Cottage Grove Middle School.

-- A sixth-grade team from Lake Middle School in Woodbury won first place in state Academic Triathlon competition. Team members are Caden Clausen, David Henry, William Johnston, Ethan Ko and Sam Poor. Academic Triathlon is a national extracurricular activity for students in grades 5-8.

-- Peter Blanchfield of Woodbury Middle School won National History Bee regional competition, qualifying him to compete at the national meet in June in Atlanta.

-- Sam Larsen, a fifth-grader at Scandia Elementary, was one of 100 students chosen by the National Geographic Society to compete in the Minnesota State Geographic Bee. To win the honor, he won his school's bee then took a qualifying test.

WEST METRO

-- Rachel Soble of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities was named a 2014 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar. The scholarship is awarded to outstanding sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research-oriented careers in mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. Soble is completing a double major in genetics and computer science; she plans to pursue a doctorate in computational biology.